A north Louisiana hospital may close its neonatal intensive care unit and other critical care services unless Louisiana increases its Medicaid reimbursement rate to match other regional medical facilities, officials say.
Scott Wester, interim CEO of the St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe—who is also CEO of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge—tells The News-Star a decision is likely in the next 30 days. But Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Kathy Kliebert says the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit is profitable and it doesn’t make business sense to close it down.
“I was shocked when I learned about the possibility of closing the NICU,” Kliebert tells the Monroe newspaper. “In previous discussions [Wester] assured us that it was a profitable unit and too important to the community to close. We’re not sure why they would consider closing it.”
Wester says St. Francis absorbed a $27 million loss last year and can’t sustain another similar financial hit. He says St. Francis’ Medicaid reimbursement rate is as much as $500 less than other regional medical centers like Baton Rouge General.
“I talked to Kathy [Tuesday], and told her I was being as transparent as possible and that these were some of the hard decisions that we don’t want to make, but that we have to consider for the long-term health of St. Francis and its ability to serve the community,” Wester says.
Kliebert maintains the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System turned a $14 million profit last year and enjoyed an average Medicaid reimbursement of about $200 higher than the state average. The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System operates six hospitals in Louisiana, including St. Francis and Our Lady of the Lake. Read the full story.
